CampusDiningTodayFall/Winter2021 - 19

risk management
Dining as a Refuge: Familiarity and
Community in Unsettling Times
Amid Pandemic Stresses, Virginia Tech Dining Services Adapts to
Provide Comfort, Connection, and Community
By Shannon Atkins
Writer/Editor
Virginia Tech Dining Services
Virginia Tech
Food is essential to our sense of safety, and
eating with others connects and reassures us.
With these understandings at the core of our
service model, virginia Tech dining services
has responded to pressures to keep the
experience of our guests central to our mission.
By adopting necessary precautions for students
to eat safely, communicating plans to provide a
sense of security, and innovating operations, we
continue to serve as a refuge from disturbances
in students' lives.
Our facilities served 4.2 million meals during
the 2020-21 academic year, with more than
2.4 million transactions taking place through
grubhub. " The demand for our services is no
less, " said Ben Marks, associate director. " I asked
our staff to think about the ten thousand people
we have living on campus. They don't have
kitchens. They may not have convenient means
to take a casual trip to a restaurant. We are their
dining room. "
To fill that essential role for students, we provide
familiar aspects of the dining experience
wherever possible and adapt or supplement
services where necessary to provide alternative
ways for patrons to connect and relax together.
With most restrictions now lifted, high rates
of vaccination among our students and staff,
and evolving understanding of best practices,
we continue to find opportunities to bring a
comforting routine and a sense of togetherness
to our dining experiences.
" It's really about the student experience, " said
Brian grove, senior associate director. " We try
to make dining with us as normal as possible in
the new way we've had to operate. That's what
drives us to provide great food and great
service for our students. "
dining services has supported a sense of
normalcy with highly anticipated traditional
events, such as the annual Chili Challenge,
where students join to sample a weeklong
progression of chili recipes that get hotter
by the day. The most recent event drew
hundreds of campus participants, whose
reactions (and tears) were shared widely
on social media.
While celebrating in our dining centers'
seasonal events including Thanksgiving,
Halloween, Fall Break, valentine's day,
Easter, st. Patrick's day, March Madness,
and movie and game nights, we made sure
to include special meals and messages for
the students who were in quarantine or
isolation at the time.
" It would have been easy to say we're not
going to do any special events; but to keep
it normal; we kept them, " grove said. " That
was really important to our team. "
Knowing that the novelties of a shared
meal can be as connecting as its reassuring
routines, we also engage and entertain
students in one-time events where
virginia Tech and guest chefs present
exclusive menus, educate students on
unconventional dishes, and invite student
feedback to guide future special menus
and limited-time offerings. Other partner
presentations have explored healthconscious
and sustainable dining trends
like new plant-forward options.
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CampusDiningTodayFall/Winter2021

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